Up, Up and More Up!

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How do you describe something indescribable? How do you give words to so many miracles and so many blessings? I am not sure but I will try. There are so many things I have skipped - either cause no wifi to blog that night, or too tired, or there was just too much! I think lasts night's meditation and pilgrim's blessing might be a good expression of what I am feeling as I try to share with you the past few days.

Yesterday - after about a 24k walk, most up a 12% or better grade (worth every ounce of sweat as the beauty was amazing)! I stopped in a little country town just short of the next UP which was supposed to be tougher than that day's UP!. The town prior to where I stopped had a sign at the beautiful little country church advertising a parochial (church affiliated) albergue in the next town. It is an Augustinian albergue and sounded amazing so off I headed. A town short of where I had planned to stay, but the albergue sounded worth an early stop and I was ready. OMGI thought I would never find the place, but so glad I kept going and did.

I was greeted at the albergue at the top of the steep road (yeah like I really wanted more up today) with smiles and a cold glass of REAL lemonade. No one spoke English, but they had a flyer showing the rules and schedule for the evening. The parochials usually have community meals, mass, blessings and meditation times. I found out later at the pilgrim mass at the quaint little church back down that steep hill and across the bridge that the man that checked me in was the priest! They had a special mass celebrating the Camino and pilgrims that evening and then we returned for a community meal with the priests and the youth helping at the albergue and our fellow pilgrims. There were my two young friends from the US just out of high school and a Brit and a friend from Holland that I had met during the beginning of the Camino that were staying there too and that spoke English. We were all supposed to bring something to contribute to the meal. Now the meal doesn't sound like much but it was amazing. It consisted of plain rice, tortillas (remember Spanish tortillas are made of egg and potatoes), salad and then some other odds and ends. There was wine and bread and olive oil of course! And for dessert was this AMAZING melon (not like one I have ever seen and fresh picked cherries. I sat at the table where no one spoke English, but the great sense of love and community made the language barrier unimportant.

After dinner and clean up we all went down to the chapel on the first level. (Yes all the rooms were up the stairs - more climbing.).Down below we gather for songs and praise and sharing of our Camino. I have done this at two other parochials. Always an amazing experience. Sadly none of the other English speaking people came, so I was the only English speaker. I listened tthough I understood nothing and I spoke when my turn came (and some of them understood most of what I said and a nice man from Lisbon translated some of it). I told them that sadly I spoke no other language so I had understood none of them, but that it didn't matter I felt everything they said in my heart and understood everything. That is the Camino - I can share things with you but most is beyond words and I can only share my love with you and keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Most of what I could tell you would fall short and in my opinion do injustice to thetrue experience..

So that past two days were hard ones due to all the climbing, but the blessings of friends and community and amazing sceneries and the Glory of the Lord everywhere made the pain and the sweat seem like nothing. I pray that most that walk with me experience their own experiences similar to mine. So it sounds like I have danced around describing these two days, but I again lack adequate words! I can say these past couple days, even when I walked alone, I have not talked with God or sang songs to His praise as I have so often in the past. It isn't because He isn't present or that I have forgotten. He is still so present in every stepI take and every vista I gaze upon. I am just so in awe of all He has created or so enjoying the friends He has sent me that the verbal communication isn't there, but it is definitely happening in my heart!

I have sang the Sound of Music theme song in repition the pastt two days for sure! We have climbed to the highest heights - it has been amazing. Today we passed a dairy barn with cows coming in for milking - from the looks of it it was from another century. I think they must have milked by hand! Oh and I love the brown swiss cows with their cow bells! This was almost to the top and right after that was an amazing coffee shop and I had my cafe con leche and orange juice el natural. Then 2k more to this amazing haven! The bad thing is all the tourist and so close to Santiago we have many new pilgrims joining us. I pray hard to be accepting of them and not to be angry because they do rather change the tone of the Camino at times. Just have to remember that this may be all they can do and be glad they have a chance to do even a little of the Camino.

Next blog maybe a more specific blog. Good night for now. Longer day tomorrow. Buen Camino!

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